Cloud is 'fundamentally changing' businesses' IT access

Cloud computing is "fundamentally changing" the way that businesses access and pay for their IT and has made its mark across the world.

That is according to Rob Lovell, the chief executive officer of ThinkGrid, who said that the technology is relieving businesses of cost problems and the "pain of managing" certain aspects of IT infrastructure.

Research by the Centre for Economics and Business Research, published last month, found that £148.7 billion could be generated per year by 2015 if all of Europe's largest five economies adopted cloud computing.

Mr Lovell believes that companies are looking at their IT departments as a way of getting more for less and that expenditure savings are only a part of the benefits.

"They want more choice and flexibility around IT and cloud delivers on this," he said.

"Companies are asking themselves why they should continue with the status quo, making upfront capital expenditure investments and carrying all the risks associated with large scale IT implementations."